Achieving quadrilateral interoperability

The Quadrilateral Interoperability Program (QIP) has as its basic goal the exchange of messages between the command, control, and information systems (CCIS) of the four participating nations: France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Basing its work on ISO protocol standards, the QIP has defined a seven-layer communications protocol for a military message handling system. To supplement the horizontal definitions of the individual layers, a vertical view was developed of the entire stack, showing the dynamics of protocol functions. The authors describe this functional view or ´schema,´ and conclude that it has been a valuable aid in implementing the protocol and in defining the test program.<>